Dreadwolf, Lord of Runes

For now though, Kane refused to give Father the satisfaction of watching him rage against his cage. Still, his pride didn’t allow him to just lay down and take it either.

So, he answered Father’s assertions about simply wanting to prepare him for the future, with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

“Uh huh, wouldn’t want me to continue walking around with these flawed biological eyes, right?” Kane scoffed, as he studied Father’s expression. He knew better than to believe his father’s words, but the twisted humour was a familiar game and a way to hide his anger.

Father’s expression didn’t change, but he did chuckle a little. “Exactly! I’ve got the best optical cybernetics ready for you. But since you chose to evade my little wake-up call, I can only assume you’ve decided to continue on your ill-advised path?”

Before answering, Kane glanced quickly at the door. The continued sounds of fighting filled the bedroom with Luna’s rage and Ira’s mad laughter. He turned his attention back to the man in front of him.

“Of course, Father,” Kane nodded dispassionately while resting his arms on his knees. “I’ve chosen to remain a Mystic. I assume the ‘certainly-not-a-game’ we agreed on a few days ago still stands?”

“Of course, of course. Our deal stands,” Father nodded without changing his expression.

He looked around Kane’s apartment with his hands cupped behind his back, displaying a casual interest in his son. “Any biological parts you can keep intact and attached to your body won’t have to be replaced by superior cybernetics.”

Inwardly, Kane sighed in relief. Despite his hatred for Father’s games, they occasionally worked to his advantage. After all, if Father chose to force the issue, there really wouldn’t be much Kane could do about it.

He had backup plans to escape Father in a pinch, of course, but their probabilities of success were all… well, perhaps not abysmal, but not much better either.

Outwardly, however, Kane simply nodded calmly. “I see. So what can I do for you then, Father? Or did you simply come to pay a visit?”

The man regarded his son for a moment with the same confident smile, as if the whole world was within his grasp. Something that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Cyberkins were merely a mid-level criminal organization under the jurisdiction of the Mecha Cartel.

And, despite Kane’s clear talent as a Mystic, the Mecha Cartel and its subsidiaries were focused on one thing—the sale and grafting of black-market cybernetics. Which, unfortunately, made things awkward for him, especially since he wanted to continue on his path as a Mystic.

Fortunately, Father’s desire to play games with him, and the fact that Kane was relatively unknown outside the Cyberkins, kept him from being forced to get cyberware for now.

Unfortunately, however, his affiliation with Father and, ultimately, the Mecha Cartel made it impossible for Kane to join a Mystic guild and access the kind of resources he truly needed.

After all, competition between Mystics and Cybers remained a hot topic on Earth, and while it might not have been difficult to find a guild willing to risk offending the Cyberkins to recruit someone of Kane’s calibre, he wasn’t talented enough for any guild to want to clash with one of the major six syndicates.

Not that the Mecha Cartel cared that much about Kane—they simply didn’t want the embarrassment of having the biological son of one of their mid-level bosses join a Mystic guild, given that they were prominent representatives of the city’s Cyber community.

After a moment of silence, broken only by the continued echoes of fighting in the other room, Father lifted his arm, and a holographic display opened up. After typing a little, the display closed again, and a device next to Kane’s bed chirped.

Kane didn’t care to look, however, and remained focused on Father.

“I sent you the location of a netrunner who recently tried to disrupt our operations,” Father explained. “Apparently, they’re part of some kind of anti-crime, or anti-cyber, or anti-something group. I’d like you to send a message.”

It wasn’t hard to figure out what kind of message Father wanted him to send. Not that Kane cared. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Anything particular you want this message to say?” Kane asked. “If not, I’ll get on it as soon as your little attack dog is done playing with Luna.”

“I’ll leave it up to your imagination, my son,” Father chuckled softly, before calmly walking into the other room. Kane was entirely naked, but that didn’t bother him. He got up and followed his father.

In the living room, he watched as Father calmly passed the heated combatants and whistled. “Enough playing, Ira. We have laws to break, people to kill, you know how it is.”

Standing in the doorway, Kane watched the two women clash and tried to hide his anxiety. He knew Ira could kill Luna anytime she wanted and so did Luna, but her determination to get past Ira was unyielding.

Ira used TG3-2 cybernetics, only one grade lower than Father’s, which still allowed her to contend with Core Linking stage Mystics, just like Father himself.

She was short, with an extremely lithe and athletic build. She held a katana-like sword in her hand and was dressed in black combat clothing.

Her hair was blue and half-shaven, while her eyes looked like a classic target, with a red dot in the middle and a red band encircling it—a clear sign of her eyes having been replaced by cyber optics.

Ira was Father's enforcer, a twisted mix of cybernetics and sadism who thrived on violence. She was a wild card who relished chaos. Kane had often wondered how far her loyalty to Father went, but he had never seen any signs she might be swayed to his side or anyone else's.

On Father’s orders, she easily broke off her clash with Luna by punching the other woman in the chest with a slightly crazed chuckle. “Sorry, little mongrel. Boss needs me. I guess we’ll continue playing another time.”

Luna stumbled back, growling, and Ira casually sheathed her sword before leaving the room with a wave. Clearly furious, Luna brandished her two short swords as electricity crackled on her body. She was about to give chase, but a single word from Kane stopped her.

“Luna!”

The woman stopped in her tracks and trembled slightly. Kane could hear her softly mumbling, “Damn that psycho little metal midget! I swear, one day I’ll melt her body down to scraps and make myself some new swords!”

With that promise made, she turned on her heels with a graceful flourish and returned her swords to the sheath on her lower back. Facing Kane, she pouted slightly and poked her fingers together. “I’m sorry, Master. It appears that bitch is still stronger than me.”

Kane looked at her with a deadpan expression. “No shit? You mean you didn’t suddenly break through two stages during the night? However will I get over the shock?”

His sarcastic comments only made the cheeky beastling playfully stick out her tongue at him.

Kane sighed. “I would like to scold you for ignoring what I said about not trying to obstruct Ira and Father, but the sounds of your fighting likely saved my eye.”

A wide smile appeared on Luna’s face, and she clapped her hands excitedly. But before she could say anything, Kane beckoned her over, causing her to quickly and gracefully hop closer to him.

When they were face to face, Kane grabbed her chin and looked into her green, cat-like eyes. A flash of vulnerable anxiety passed through Luna’s gaze. She knew he was serious. “But since you did decide to fight her, I expect you to use this as motivation. Understood?”

Luna’s cat-like ears twitched, and she nodded eagerly, a bloodthirsty smile spreading across her face. Her eyes gleamed with determination, looking like an actual cat eyeing a mouse.

“I look forward to making her pay, Master!” she growled menacingly, already imagining the day when she’d melt Ira’s body down to scraps.

But for now, she had to focus on growing stronger alongside her master.